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Visit Nunavut's Mount Thor, World's Steepest, Tallest Cliff

ICTMN Staff

6/11/13

In Auyuittuq National Park on remote Baffin Island in Canada's Nunavut territory is Mount Thor, the world's steepest, tallest cliff. The peak’s west face is the longest vertical drop on Earth: 4,101 feet straight down. Actually, the slope is steeper than vertical, since the face is actually a 105-degree overhang.

Given its remoteness, Auyuittuq National Park is one of the last great stretches of (mostly) unexplored wilderness in the world. Auyuittuq means "land that never melts" in the Inuit language (Inuktitut); the Nunavut territory is inhabited by mostly Inuit peoples.

Sweeping glaciers and polar sea ice meet jagged granite mountains in Auyuittuq. Established in 1976, Auyuittuq protects 19,089 square kilometers of glacier-scoured terrain. Located in the eastern Arctic, on southern Baffin Island, the park includes the highest peaks of the Canadian Shield, the Penny Ice Cap, marine shorelines along coastal fiords, and Akshayuk Pass, a traditional travel corridor used by the Inuit for thousands of years. Whether you wish to climb Auyuittuq's rugged peaks, ski on its pristine icefields, or hike the scenic Akshayuk Pass, this park offers unique opportunities to experience the beauty and majesty of the Arctic.

To learn more about Auyuittuq National Park and for information about visiting, click here. And for some fun facts about Mount Thor, click here.

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